10 - Halifax Mariners/Worcester Athletics

The 60s started off well for the Athletics, as young QB Gene Bishop led them to a playoff appearance in 1960, however, the next season would be one to remember with QB Gene Bishop leaving the team, along with other stars. Then, Worcester Stadium went up in flames and so did the team, who would win 1 game over 2 seasons. They would lose more star players, including the best player in franchise history, LB Scotty Williams. However, once the team landed in Halifax, they were able to properly rebuild and they would slowly improve with each season. They finally broke through after bringing in QB Lyle Painter to lead the way in 1966 and since then have made a pair of playoff appearances. In 1968, the team would win their first title since joining the NAAF. 

Halifax does walk away with the worst record over the decade, with an impressive 0.371 win percentage. As well as the worst point differential with a -454 which was not helped by the -215 differential in the 1962 season alone. But their playoff success is really what lifts them up above the teams below, going 3-2 and winning a title.  

All-Decade Team

The All-decade team is mostly made up of players that have been a part of the Mariners. But a couple of stars, captain OL Ward Briscoe and DB Joe Robinson, have been with the team since they were in Worcester. DL Pat Butler and DL Wayne Baxton have been the cornerstone duo on the D-line for most of the decade. OL Flint Boyer also joins the team after an All-Star season in 1966. WRs Jav Kerrigan and Shane Steadman have been fan-favourite weapons for the offence over the last decade.  The younger star in DB Aquillio Ruiz has made a mark in the first 5 years of his career, while star QB Lyle Painter has made an impact since joining the team in 1966. Finally, LB Scotty Williams still gets on the list as being one of the only bright spots on the team over the decade.

TheEnigmaticOne wrote:

If I've asked this before you can ignore it, but I was wondering what the teams are in the ACFL and GLFL? Once again if you already answered you can just direct me to the post.

Thanks in advance.

I have done it before, but idk if that's accurate anymore since I have changed some things since then. I am still working through some of the background stuff at the moment, so some teams may be subject to change at the moment and I will let you know later.

*CORRECTION: I realized that my ranking of Providence and Indiana was wrong so I am making the correction now that Providence is 8th and Indiana is ranked 9. The fix is done on the blog post so they are in the right order.

9 - Indiana Victors

The first half of the decade was miserable for the Victors who continuously stumbled in an attempt to build a winning team. They would get very close to a .500 season in 1962 but were a point short of the mark. Eventually, they would break through as a contender in 1965 on the back of an MVP season from QB Lyle Painter. While Painter left the team the next season, young QB Tom Applewhite stepped up and continued to deliver for the team that has not fallen below .500 since the 1964 season. The team has made the playoffs in 4 of the last 5 seasons, which includes an appearance in the 1968 McCallister Cup. The Victors ended the decade by getting DB Neville Falkner on the roster and look to be hunting down a McCallister Cup heading into the 1970s. Overall, Indiana’s decade was very comparable to that of the Gold Stars, but they were not able to capture a division title and had a slightly worse record. 

All-Decade Team

DB Kelly Kirkland, the current captain of the team and the only player from the team’s first season in 1957 that is still on the team, is the first member of the team. He is joined by many other defensive All-Stars like LB Terrence Patton, LB Marshall Langenbrunner, and DB Cameron Taylor. Of course, the team’s first-ever draft pick, DL William Sanderson, remains on the team despite being traded in 1965, as he was easily the best DL in the league during the early 60s. Offensively, superstar WR Ed Edwards easily locked in a spot with the team next to a pair of consistent All-Star OL in Victor Stahl and 1962 Rookie of the Year runner-up Jean-Baptiste Desjardins. RB Raymond Green has been the best weapon out of the backfield for the Victors for many seasons. Finally, QB Tom Applewhite rounds out the list with several very strong seasons over the last few years. There is an argument that QB Lyle Painter could have been included with his MVP season in 1965, but since he is on the Mariners’ team and only had that one year of high-level play, he was kept off the team.

6 - Montreal Rouge

The Rouge were in the wilderness up until the 1960 season where a coaching change helped them get back to the playoffs with an 8-4 season. The next year, they would bring in their star QB in Gene Bishop, who fled Worcester before the chaos. Bishop made Montreal an even stronger team taking them to the top of the East in 1961, but they would fall short in the East Division Final. They made their 3rd straight playoff appearance in 1962, which would become a McCallister Cup appearance after a shocking win over the Gold Stars in the East Division Final. Montreal would make the playoffs the next 2 seasons, but could not get a win. They would miss the postseason in ‘65, but they would return to the playoffs and the McCallister Cup in 1966. After making another trip to the playoffs in 1967, Montreal saw a lot of their roster move on with many core players retiring or going to different teams. The team has yet to fully recover from the losses missing the playoffs over the last two seasons. 

The Rouge were about as good as you could get without taking home a championship this decade. They posted a strong 66-win record with the 2nd most playoff games played in the decade. Unfortunately, they only had 4 wins in their 11 playoff games. Their 7 playoff appearances would tie for most of the decade, and their 66 wins would be 3rd most in the 60s. Despite their strong performance, the lack of a title is what holds this team back from being closer to the top.

All-Decade Team

9 out of 10 players on the Montreal All-Decade Team spent at least 8 seasons with the Rouge this decade. The biggest star of the group is the 1967 MVP S Garet deVale, who has been easily one of the league’s best defensive players throughout the ‘60s. He’s joined by current offensive superstar WR Taylor Karis, who has been a consistent threat on offence since being drafted by the team in 1961. A couple of past offensive stars in 2-time Offensive Player of the Year RB Scott Mallard-White and another receiving threat in the speedy WR Derek Cross. Of course, the man delivering the ball to the stars, QB Gene Bishop, joins the list having a strong decade under centre. Joining deVale on defence are a pair of leaders for the team in former captain DB Quentin Xavier and former alternate captain LB Sam Fitzroy. However, one of the sometimes overlooked stars is DL Lucas Kipling who was a 4-time All-Star in the 1960s. Finally, 5-time All-Star, OL Maxence Castex and the first tight-end on any All-Decade team, TE Eli Grant round out the group.

4 - Louisville Thunder

Louisville entered the decade by having their first above-500 season going 7-5 in 1960. Unfortunately, they would not make the playoffs despite making them in 1959 with a 4-8 record. The next season the Thunder would improve once again to go 9-3 and make the playoffs before falling short in the West Division Final. As the team was continuing to get better, they would make the biggest move of the decade and trade for the league’s best LB in Scotty Williams. Williams made an immediate impact making Louisville’s defence one of the best in the league, helping to lead them to a McCallister Cup on home field in 1962. The Thunder remained a contender for the next couple of years, making the playoffs in the next 3 seasons. The ‘65 season would see the Thunder bounce back from a tough start and make it into the big game for a second time, but they came up short this time. Following Williams’ retirement after the ‘65 season, the Thunder slipped to a rough 1-11, barely escaping the grasp of a winless season. However, it would spark the end of QB Leonidas Dumont’s reign as the starting QB as QB Buck Murphy would take over the next season along with a new coach to get the Thunder back to the postseason and the West Division Final. However, the Thunder could not maintain the strong play and would slip to 4-8 and then inevitably still have that winless season to close out the decade.

The Thunder remained a very strong team throughout the decade. Obviously, the 3 tough seasons would certainly hurt the record making them a sub-500 team, but they made the playoffs 6 times and did some damage with the 2 McCallister Cup appearances and 8 total wins which is tied for most playoff wins of the decade. The Thunder also played 13 playoff games which was the most in the decade by any team.

All-Decade Team

The Thunder had one of the toughest teams to pick as so many players made an impact over the decade, but the team we get are those who shined both in their play and their leadership. The secondary was especially strong for the Thunder this decade with superstar talents like DB Alexander Bradley and DB Oliver Langstrom passing through, while a pair of leaders helped anchor the group in S Johnny Berger and DB Jayden Mills. DL Bjorn Sigmarsson has always been a pain for O-lines since entering the league in 1961, and of course, the future Hall of Famer, Scotty Williams, rounds out the defensive picks. Offensively, the Thunder had some strong talents like RB Rodney Clark and WR Casey Coleman, but when it came down to the best of the best, the difference became leadership and who the fans saw as the biggest stars. Those players were the hometown hero, QB Leonidas Dumont, who quarterbacked the team to both McCallister Cup appearances, and the resilient WR Piers Key. Recently, WR Lloyd Lane has made a huge impact for the offence being a true deep threat, earning a spot on the team next to the final addition in 5-time All-Star, OL Taylor Forbes.